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Dear Bill and other members,

We went back and forth on other forums about whether this vase is Japanese or not. The stamp appears to be gibberish I'm told. The only other time I found this stamp was on an Austrian plate. It is about 19 inches tall.

Based on what I was able to uncover, this vase appears to be European (possibly Austrian or Italian) with a gibberish mark. The artist did not know the difference between Japanese and Chinese dress. I was able to locate the same mark on a 19th Century Austrian plate.

The top half of the stamp remains a mystery to me too at this point, but the bottom part is fairly legible from right to left as 永勝造. Here's a link to the eBay forum, where someone else is seeking help with the same mark on the back of a Western-style plate, which piece looks to me like some of the stuff being produced at ornamentation factories in Hong Kong and Macao.

Since 永勝造 in pinyin is "Yongsheng Zao" - "Made by Yongsheng", I'm guessing it may be the Yongsheng factory in Hong Kong, with a facility possibly on the Mainland as well. This decorative porcelain producer pops up regularly in this forum, most recently in the thread at:

http://www.asianart.com/phpforum/index.php?method=detailAll&Id=100908

I would think it wouldn't be out of the question for such a factory to produce decorative dishes in patterns tailored to Austria or, like in this case, in the Japanese style.

Something happening to these marks, I believe, is that they're stamped on top of glaze and seem to be turning a bit runny in the kiln during refiring.

Best regards,

Bill H.


URL Title :eBay Forum

Thank you for your insight Bill. This is a shot in the dark, but in my opinion, this vase does not look Chinese. May I offer an alternative Japanese reading of the seal?

While the top line is too illegible to really make out, someone on the eBay forum says it reads Satsuma Yaki (doesn't really look like it to me). The bottom, 永勝造, could possibly be read as Katsuzo, which was a porcelain manufacturer during the Meiji Period.

Bokaba

Now that you mention it, the top line comes across to me as Satsuma Yaki (薩摩焼) too. The Monash Univ. machine translator gives the surname 'Nagakatsu' for 永勝, but I've found nothing so far that I can tie to anything like your vase. Wonder if it might have been made in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong or Macao.

Bill H.

Thanks for your response Bill. Did they make porcelain while HK was occupied by Japan from 1941-1945? I was under the impression that much of the city was destroyed. The only thing I could find with a Satsuma Nagakatsu-zo mark was this incense burner in the Victorian and Albert Museum though the quality is much nicer than the vase and there is no image of the mark. Looks late Meiji Period.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O493632/incense-burner-and-unknown/

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